Local leaders are bracing for a winter storm that’s slated to pick up steam Saturday night, possibly dropping a foot of snow and sleet across the D.C. region.
A state of emergency is in place in D.C., Maryland and Virginia ahead of what the District’s mayor called “the largest snowfall” the region has seen in a while.
Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency in Maryland during a news conference Friday afternoon, following suit with preparations made by Virginia’s governor and D.C.’s mayor.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also put a snow emergency in place. Vehicles parked along certain routes could be ticketed and towed starting Saturday afternoon.
Emergency preparations in Maryland
Moore has requested that President Donald Trump authorize a federal emergency declaration to open up funds for resources and equipment such as generators.
“This winter storm has the potential to be remarkably dangerous,” Moore said during a Friday news conference. “This winter storm … is not just going to impact the state of Maryland.”
He urged Marylanders to stay home during and after the storm until crews have cleared the roads.
“Unless you have a serious emergency, plan to stay home starting tomorrow, adjust your plans for Sunday and Monday now,” Moore said. “Let the professionals do their jobs. Let the team do their work.”
For those who have to travel, he said to bring along blankets, water and food, and to give snow plows plenty of room on the road.
“Travel will become extremely hazardous and life threatening, if not impossible, Saturday night into Sunday for much of the state,” Secretary of Emergency Management Russell Strickland said.
Marylanders in need of help can dial #77 for roadside assistance from state highway crews and first responders.
Moore said emergency resources, including Maryland National Guard troops, are being deployed around the state in preparation.
“I want to be crystal clear, please use common sense and please show courtesy and grace in the days ahead,” Moore said. “Please stay off the roads. Please look after your neighbors.”
Temperatures will be frigid over the weekend. Strickland said generators and propane heaters should be used outdoors — not in a garage.
“This will limit your risk of carbon monoxide poisoning,” Strickland said. “Generators should at least be 20 feet away from the home and away from windows, doors and vents.”
How Virginia is gearing up for snow
Speaking with WTOP anchors Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she declared a state of emergency Thursday to allow the Commonwealth to get ready for the potential impacts of the winter storm.
“It is a constant and evolving process, and frankly, we’ve got incredible people who have been planning for these types of challenges,” she said. “But to have it across the state all at once is a particularly unique challenge in the moment.”
A snowstorm in 2022 left many drivers stranded on Interstate 95 in Virginia, including Sen. Tim Kaine, who said he was stuck in his car for 21 hours. Spanberger said the state has taken steps to prevent a similar incident.
“We have taken action early and certainly among the lessons learned from prior strong snowstorms is that it is important to have the flexibility when you need it to be able to respond to a storm,” she said. “Which is why I signed that emergency declaration (Thursday) morning, so that we could begin putting all of the pieces in place.”
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Those pieces include having Virginia National Guard troops placed around the Commonwealth to respond to emergencies and help with road clearing, she said. State police are also monitoring the storm.
Crews with the Virginia Department of Transportation are already out pretreating roads. And Spanberger said the state’s department of emergency management is working with local governments to make warming stations available.
“The real complicating factor here is that the temperatures are supposed to be so cold. And so, places where we will see a lot of rain and a lot of freezing rain, the significant worry there is that we’ll see trees come down, and with it, many power lines,” Spanberger said.
What does a snow emergency mean for DC?
The District could start towing vehicles on certain routes as soon as a snow emergency kicks in Saturday at noon.
That snow emergency status is expected to stay in place until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, though that’s subject to change depending on how the storm impacts the city. D.C. Public Schools were already closed for students on Monday.
There’s a map of D.C.’s snow emergency routes on WTOP; parking along the highlighted routes could get you ticketed and towed as early as Saturday at noon.
“We are also requesting vehicle support from the D.C. National Guard to ensure our first responders are able to move around the city during the storm,” Mayor Bowser said. “We expect that to be related to snow clearing, especially for vulnerable communities.”
Crews have been brining since Thursday at 7 p.m., according to Anthony Crispino, the interim director of the D.C. Department of Public Works.
“The brine, which is a mixture of salty water, essentially, and beet juice, it allows it to stick to the road surface, and the beet juice, believe it or not, actually allows it to be effective at a lower temperature than the rock salt that we use,” Crispino said. “By laying down the brine, then on top of that the salt, we’re hoping that we have a good base coat, and when the temperatures start to come up, it’ll melt from below.
When the region gets hit with heavy bands of snow up front, he said the strategy is to, “try and push as much off the snow, and then let the chemicals that we have do the work on the back end.”
The city said trash pickup next week is likely to slide by a few days.
“You are responsible for shoveling your sidewalks, you are also responsible for clearing the area in your alley spaces,” Bowser said. “That goes a long way in helping us have access to the alley ways.”
But Crispino admitted the city was hoping to get salt trucks inside some alleys before the storm hits, to offer up some initial protection. Both he and the mayor also stressed the importance of checking on older neighbors as the storm goes on.
“It’s going to be very cold next week, which means the snow sticks around,” Bowser said. “We want people to make sure they have food, they have a safe passage in and out.”
Eight recreation centers will be open if residents lose power and need someplace warm to go. More could be opened up if needed.
Bowser also noted the importance of getting the city up and running again after the storm.
“When we have snow events like this, industry suffers,” Bowser said. “Restaurants and hospitality suffer, and if we can’t get open, then their employees and guests can’t get to work and get to their events.”
“We want to see everybody next week,” she added.
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